For some reason Tiger has felt the need to return to his Buddhist roots and bring a more calm presence to the golf course. Whether this is a result of his handlers (aka Phil Knight) wanting to present him in a different light or a true change, it was weird to watch. Just because a man has trouble with marriage vows does not necessarily mean he has to change the way he goes about his job. Watching Tiger attempt to control his emotions on Sunday was the equivalent of seeing Will Ferrel play a serious role in a movie. You are just waiting for him to break out into "Afernoon Delight" or call out Veronica Corningstone.
Its just not him. And why does it have to be? Is it because the intensity he brings to the golf course carries over into his personal life and leads him to fall back into that kind of lifestyle? Did the counsellor state that he needs to control his emotions? Was it Elin's request that he change his demeanor?
Whoever suggested it must not have a vested interest in Tiger's success on the golf course for it will hurt him in the long run. Watching him wave to the audience and pretend not to be mad was just plain awkward. No more games Tiger, be who you are on the golf course. An ultra competitive killer who wants nothing more than defeating the competition and finishing first. Forget about being nice to your competitors. Yell at the annoying "get in the hole" guys, tell your caddy to regain his jerk status on the tour, and attempt to dominate the PGA like the real Tiger would.
With that being said, watching Mickelson absolutely shred Augusta on Sunday brought such a stark contrast to the main story of the week. Lost in Tiger's Escapades over the past 5 months is the story of Mickelson's wife and mother fighting breast cancer. Through it all he kept a low profile and continued to work on his game. It showed on Sunday as he played the best golf of his career and showed steel nerves. Without so much as a whisper from anyone, Mickelson and his caddie spent time at Augusta earlier this year, creating an extensive putting book. Details like this led him to success on Sunday.
As Mickelson walked the 18th fairway and received an applause reserved for golf legends in Augusta, my mind wandered to Tiger. What would have happened had he won on Sunday? Who would have been there to congratulate him on his stirring comeback? As Phil got near the green his wife Amy meandered out to the 18th green. It was at this time we discovered that this was the first time she had been out of bed the entire week. This was the first time her and the kids had travelled with Mickelson since she was diagnosed with breast cancer 11 months ago. Jim Nantz was apparently rushing to find production notes on the Mickelson story buried beneath sordid stories of Tiger's last 5 months.
After Mickelson absolutely buried his birdie on 18 to finish at -16, he calmly celebrated and found his wife Amy in what turned into a genuine heart wrenching moment. Here was the faithful husband supported by his sick wife ascending to golf's highest honor in the face of tragedy within his family. You couldn't help but feel good for Phil. And what about Tiger?
He was fuming somewhere in the background, wondering why he was snap hooking the ball and burying the head of his club in the ground. When asked how he would assess his play, he simply stated "I finished fourth. I entered the tournament so that is not good enough". Ahhh, so refreshing. Nice to see the new Tiger honor is competitor in Mickelson and deflect the attention off of himself for a little while...
So while Phil Mickelson is celebrating with his family and receiving praise from the media, Tiger will go back to his broken world, work out the kinks in his golf game and shortly return to being the old Tiger. One just wonders when he wins his first tournament post escapade who will be there to greet him at the end. All the sacrifices he has made to turn himself into a winning machine have left him alone and broken. While we criticized Mickelson for his struggles with his weight and his inability to overcome Tiger for years, maybe we were missing a lesson in priorities. For one day, Left seemed to win that battle and win it in a big way.
